Residual Value??

[jrandol]

I am thinking about leasing an 04. 5 Ram soon here. Is there anyone out there that leased theirs and if so, could you share what your residual value is and the term (months) of the lease is? Trying to fiqure out a % of what these things are predicted to be worth in a few years.



Thanks for your help!!!



Jeff

 

[roperteacher]

I leased two other trucks, I will NOT do it ever again. . I am buying my 4. 5. Unless you don't driver much, a lease makes a good payment, but you are throwing your $$$ away!! Because of my two previous leases, I was about 9,000 upside down at the end of my lease. THe truck was worth X, and I owed about 9,000 more. I am having to eat it on this one! I am making double truckl payments, hopefully pay off 2 yrs early and make a little of it back on saved interest.

 

[Carlsummers]

I have never leased... never will. My daughter is in a lease now on a Camry... . at the end of the lease she will owe $7000 and the car will have 70,000 miles on it..... thought I taught her better... . just buy it... . leases are good for the lease holder, not you.....

 

[Cooker]

I used to feel leasing was a bunch or crap to, that is until I completed my "senior project" for a class while obtaining my undergraduate degree.



Leasing can be a decent way to purchase a car, but not necessarily drive a car. Most people drive more than the 10k-15k miles a year they give you so if you want a car to drive and you plan on giving it back when the lease is up, leasing is probably not a good idea for you unless you absolutley will not go over the mileage and even then it may be questionable.



If you start out at the beginning of the lease with the idea you are going to buy the vehicle, as you would if you did buy it in the first place, you could possibly save some money purchasing the vechicle by starting with a lease.



All leases are different so it is important to look at all the details before you make a final decision. Your driving habits and desire to keep the vehicle are important considerations too.



Jeff, sorry to jump in on your thread but I just thought these were some relevant comments as to the direction of this thread.

 

[curatchko]

I leased my 04, 0 down, 4 years, and residual value after the lease is up, is 19,000.

 

[KHogan]

It only makes sense to lease IFF:



a) you drive 15k mi. /yr. or less;

b) can write it off as a business expense;

c) buy something with a high residual value.



Most american vehicles are a poor lease value as they have lousy residual value. High buck cars like BMW, MB, etc. are great leases, especially when they're offering incentives. I leased a BMW 540i Sport ($65k MSRP) a few years back for an awesome 3yr. deal. I was able to put a security deposit up that was equivalent to the first 6 or 7 lease payments (whatever the max alowable was), so the interest and payment was very low. I wrote the entire amount off on my taxes as a business expense and I got a deal that several others (with my contract in their hand) could not duplicate. I had my RAM truck, so I was able to negotiate a 10k mi/yr lease for a reduced amount and since I didn't go over this amount, I avoided paying mileage penalties. When the lease ended, I just turned in my car AND they cut me a ck for $7k! The interest that I saved by letting them keep my money warm for three years was much greater than I would have made in the bank on interest, so I really made out on the deal.



Now that my new '04. 5 RAM 2500 Cummins 600/48RE 4X4 Quad Cab LWB Laramie is my only vehicle, I bought it. I couldn't pass up the 0%/48mos. and $2k cash back (plus it unded up being an invoice deal). Leasing wouldn't have beeen a reasonable alternative as I do 20k mi/yr just for work. I should be able to write the depreciation off for the next three years or so, plus vehices over 6500# GVWR also qualify for a deduction if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Big Wheel]

I lease all my trucks.

Leasing is costly the only good thing about it is, I get a new truck

every 2 years ,you never have to buy tires ,batterys,breaks . You just change oil and drive . Then in 2 years you just give back the keys and say it was fun. You can get a new one or just walk away. The fun thing about it is if the delar wont fix it for you just say. Fix it or you will get it back that way when I turn it in, and thay fix it every time .

 

[DPelletier]

Continuously leasing for private purposes can be an expensive way to go. I buy most of my trucks in my fleet, but depending on the deal, my accountants have advised me that it can be advantageous to lease. I leased our new "600" for 0% over 36 mo. Buy out is 24,000 Canadian and I expect the truck to be worth approximately 25,000 - 30,000 at the end of the lease period. I don't care about the mileage allotment as I'll just buy it out. The nice thing, from a business perspective, is that unlike my dually, the lease doesn't show up as a long term liability on our balance sheet.

The flip side is that leasing for private use can entice people to buy a vehicle that is beyond thier means. When the term of the lease is up, they are faced with higher payments to borrow the buy out money than the lease payments were and so, they end up leasing another truck. They may never end up owning anything.



In the past I had leased some gas powered trucks, and the value of the truck was never more than the buy out. The diesels have all had some residual value, so if I turn them it, the dealer pays me the difference.



Sorry for the meandering thoughts

Dave

 

[curatchko]

Depends on the lease deal. If there are enough incentives, and the employee discount included, you cannot beat a lease.



For instance, 0 down, 319 per month on a brand new 44,000 dollar 600... If you don't plan to keep your vehicles more than 4-5 years anyhow, that is an unbeatable deal. You'd be crazy to buy one unless you put more than 20k per year on it.

 

[TexasDodgeRam]

I have leased 2 times and won't do it again.



One bad thing I can say about a lease is adding stuff to the truck like BOMBS. It might be hard to remove them if you decide to give up the truck at the end of the lease.

 

[DGFoster]

My 2000 was a lease,but I put well over 100000 miles on it so I was way over on the miles so I purchased the truck all I did was call DC and they set it up and set me the paperwork,then I kept it for a year and decided I wanted a new one,and I got more than I owed on it when I sold it,so it worked out.